For a couple of weeks now, I have been hoping to hike up this scenic mountain that is often sited as having some of the best views of Lake Tahoe, but unfortunately, weather has not been kind. Last weekend, it rained in Reno, which meant snow in the mountains around Tahoe. Not being familiar at all with the trail, I was very hesitant to attempt the hike on fresh snow and so I put it off. And with that first snow, came the fear that the rest of my hiking adventures this year would be limited to the lower elevations.
As luck would have it though, it got warm enough through the week to melt of the vast majority of the snow that fell. And so, I set out early this morning to conquer another peak. The trail to Mount Tallac starts between Camp Richardson and Emerald Bay, on the southwestern section of Lake Tahoe. The trailhead is well marked and simple to find. At the parking lot, I registered for a free wilderness permit, as instructed by the signage. The trail enters the federally protected Desolation Wilderness area very quickly after leaving the trailhead.
The trail almost immediately encounters the small Floating Island Lake on its west side, and shortly thereafter, the much larger Fallen Leaf Lake. In fact, much of the trail in this section travels along a ridge overlooking this large lake.
A little further on, we take an abrupt turn at the tiny Cathedral Lake, which is quite serene. From this point on, the elevation increases much faster. This should have been obvious to me, knowing the trail gained 3500' over a short five miles, and seeing Tallac looming above the trail through this section. Onward and upward, I go.
It's a brisk fall morning here in the South Lake Tahoe area, and the weather report predicts a storm this evening, which explains the overbearing wind blowing through the forest. I suspect it will get much stronger as I continue to gain elevation. As I'm starting to get a little cold, I throw on gloves, a stocking cap, and my wind breaker.
Continuing on up the very steep trail comprised mostly of loose gravel, the wind continues to get stronger. Eventually, I reach a bend in the trail where the grade starts to level out and I enter the a lush (or at least it probably was a few weeks ago) meadow overlooking some more lakes and mountains in the distance, all part of the Desolation Wilderness. While the trail is a bit easier in this section, the wind has not subsided at all. In fact, I think it is a bit stronger. I'm thankful for the occasional tree to help break it a bit.
Above me, I can see the trail will again enter another section of steep grade through some sharp rocks, as it approaches the summit. I push hard through this section in order to get through it. Reaching a ledge overlooking Tahoe, the trail itself pretty much dissipates and I'm left to scramble up and across some sharp rocks a few dozen yards to reach the peak.
Standing on the very top of Mt. Tallac, I can say the reports of the view were not false. This is by far the most majestic view I have encountered of the vast alpine lake below. However, standing at full height up here is all but impossible, as the wind is gusting to what has to be 80mph or more. If not for locking myself against some of the rocks, it would likely be enough to blow me over.
At 9739 feet, Mount Tallac is not even in the top ten as far as the tallest peaks around Tahoe, but it still made for a great hike. And while the final elevation isn't that high, getting there was something else. This is one of the steepest trails I have ever hiked, but it was well worth it in the end.
With my leg still a little sore from overdoing it a bit last weekend, I've spent the week doing some very short hikes and avoiding any strain on it. With the weekend here, I decided to keep at this pace and give my leg another few days without any major stress. With that said, I have been wanting to return to a well known petroglyph site about an hour from Reno called Grimes Point.
As the glaciers receded at the end of the last ice age, they left a large lake in the northwestern corner of Nevada, remnants of which can be seen in today's Pyramid and Walker Lakes. The ancient Native Americans hunted and foraged around the shores of this ever-shrinking lake. Between eight and two thousand years ago, they carved and scratched meaningful symbols into the rocks around Grimes Point, which would have been a peninsula jutting into the lake. In addition, they utilized many of the rock overhangs and caves in the nearby hills as shelter and food caches. The largest and most archaeological significant of these caves is known as Hidden Cave and has been excavated several times in the last century, revealing many details about the lives of these ancient peoples. This cave is left under lock and key, but as luck would have it, the Churchill County Museum offers guided tours on the second and forth Saturday of each month.
While I had originally, only been concerned with the petroglyphs at Grimes Point, I thought it might be worthwhile to visit the cave since I happened to be going on the day of the guided tour. After following a caravan to the cave trail parking lot, we hiked up the desert hillsides and around what was once the shore of the ancient lake until we reached the sealed entrance to the cave. That's when the whole affair went a little sour. After spending a good 20 minutes attempting to unlock the door, the guide gave up. Apparently, the desert sands had worked their way into the lock and mixed with oil sprayed into the lock by previous guides to seize it to a state of being unable to turn. I can't blame the tour guide. He gave it his all, but it just wasn't meant to be. He called the museum for guidance, but I decided to say my farewells and head back to the petroglyphs, where were the reason I had come in the first place.
Walking the short trail in and amongst the rock art, it's fairly easy to imagine ancient hunters laying wait among the ancient foliage for a deer or big horn to come to the shoreline for a water break. Perhaps the scratching on the rock, were just boredom while they awaited prey. There doesn't seem to be much of a pattern to the way the glyphs are arranged and it is extremely easy to miss them here. This is partly because they might appear any side of given rock and partly due to the faded nature of them on dark stone, which is made especially hard to see when the sun glares off just right.
After a short time walking in and around the area, I make my way back to where I had left the jeep. It's getting warm out and I need to get home, but it was a fun trip even without being able to enter the cave.
For a few weeks, I've been wanting to hike up to Paradise Lake, which rests alongside and above another lake I visited a couple of years ago, Warren Lake, though the trail to Paradise goes around the western side of Castle Peak, while the trail to Warren travels the eastern route around the mountain. I got a reasonably early start and drove to the Donner Pass PCT trail head. There was some type of event going on there, as there were musicians and other performers along the path from the trailhead parking lot to the actual Pacific Crest Trail, but I didn't take the time to do anything with it, as I had a pretty long hike ahead of me.
Making my way around a small meadow and through the tunnels that go underneath Interstate 80, I began making way up the granite boulders and eventually to the forested area, with Castle Peak supervising from above. As I discovered after talking to some fellow hikers who joined the trail further in, there is another trailhead on the northern side of the interstate. The effect of this was adding an additional five miles to the overall hike, but it was worth it for the exercise.
After making my way down from Castle Peak Summit, I entered an amazing little meadow bounded by Castle Peak itself and the ridge leading up to the peak. On the west side of this area sits an abandoned hut, apparently built by Peter Grub in the late 1930's. It is apparently used by PCT hikers often as an overnight station, but is currently closed and in need of repairs, as stated by a Sierra Club sign on the entrances.
Continuing onward, I find meadow after meadow, including one with an amazing overlook into the western Sierra Nevada Range and some colorful flora to boot. I had anticipated this trail being somewhat lonely today, but I was surprised to see a lot of fellow adventures out and a about. Thinking back, I guess I should have realized that this being one of the most famous and popular through-hike trails in the world, there would a lot of people on it. In total, I probably encountered two dozen hikers along my way to the lake.
After the final meadow, I entered a maze of granite and realizing, I was close to the lake, but loosing the trail, I simply scrambled up the granite boulders to eventually find Paradise Lake sitting in a pool carved out of granite. The lake has a number of small islands dotting it, and by small, I mean that most are about the size of a tent footprint. The water is cool and crystal clear, as one might expect in a remote alpine lake like this is. So peaceful up here. I wish I had more time to stay, but I have to head home.
I consume a few calories, take in a bit of sun, and start the long trail back. About 4 miles into the trip back, my knee decides to go haywire and I pop a couple of pain killers and take a short rest before continuing on. A couple of ladies pass me while I'm resting on a boulder and offer me some Advil, but I politely decline explaining that I've already taken something for it. The kindness and generosity of hikers never ceases to amaze me.
I eventually make my way back to the trailhead. In total, this trail took me about eight hours and carried me just over 20 miles, making this the longest single day hike I have ever done. I'm exhausted and wearing a knee brace as I collect my thoughts and write all this up, but it was definitely worth it. Paradise Lake is a beautiful hike and today gave me a taste of the PCT, which I hope to someday complete as a through-hike.
